An attempt is made to share the truth regarding issues concerning Israel and her right to exist as a Jewish nation. This blog has expanded to present information about radical Islam and its potential impact upon Israel and the West. Yes, I do mix in a bit of opinion from time to time.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hamas: A Lawless Authority

Arab media perspective:

Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat- Thick traffic congestion caused a blockage at the crossroads leading to the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. This disruption lasted for some time while motorists waited patiently in their cars. When our taxi neared the top of the traffic bottleneck, we discovered that it had been caused by a fight among a group of traders in the sheep market adjacent to the junction. And yet, the first observation made by the people was the fact that those involved in this brawl were using sticks and stones – unlike the situation before Hamas seized control of Gaza and the clans would use bombs and guns to settle their accounts with one another in the streets.Hamas movement managed to forcefully seize control of Gaza and confiscate all the weapons from the citizens whilst quelling the influential families and clans that were previously responsible for spreading chaos. However, despite these achievements, Hamas seems incapable of establishing all the required elements, for an integrated system; services have deteriorated to the worst state yet and one crisis is shortly followed by another. Residents of the city maintain that it has become “miserable and suffocated”. However, the proponents of the new Palestinian regime uphold that Hamas are not behind Gaza’s “misfortunes”. They believe it is the outcome of the war that the international community had declared upon them, along with the embargo, which they believe is supported by what they describe as the “government in the West Bank”.According to Khalil Abu Shamala, the director of al Damir human rights organization, Hamas appears to be, “an authority where law is absent as a result of a paralysis in the legislative tools, which are the police, general prosecution [headquarters] and the judiciary – all of which have been replaced by Hamas’s Executive Force. Nowadays, if you need the police, all you have to do is dial ‘109’ to get through to the Executive Force.”While some of the citizens enthusiastically welcomed the iron grip represented by the Executive Force, others upheld that it posed a threat.Abu Abdullah a shop owner in Gaza said, “The Executive Force has disciplined some people,” while Siham, a 25-year-old secretary, stated, “It’s true that the levels of crime have decreased but I believe it stems from fear rather than conviction.” Commenting on the fighting that takes place, Abu Abdullah said, “Whenever the fighting broke out a few months ago, it was likely that a lot of people would get killed.” But Hamas has banned the custom of firing shots into the air, which people used to sometimes practice as a celebratory act during weddings and parties. Today, they use fireworks and crackers to express their joy. The head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and lawyer, Raji al Surani, said of the situation in Gaza, “It has not been this safe in years.” The PCHR is the largest and most important human rights center in the Palestinian territories.Volunteers from Hamas assist the Executive Force in controlling the flow of traffic on the city’s busy streets, while drivers have become more committed to adhering to the road rules. One of the members of the Executive Force chased a car for 500 meters for breaking a red light. Meanwhile, car thefts have decreased dramatically, however theft in general remains quite rampant in Gaza, which is facing major economic troubles. Aziz Ammar, a taxi driver, said of Hamas, “They are faithful, God-fearing people. They are not corrupt.”But this steely control over security is countered by a chaos in daily life that is both relentless and ongoing, especially in the health and sanitation services. This degenerated significantly after the recent electrical power cut crisis; the EU had suspended it funding for the Gaza power plant last Friday on suspicion that electricity revenues were being diverted. The EU has since resumed fuel payments last Wednesday, much to the relief of 600,000 Palestinians in Gaza.During the power outage, the residents of Gaza lived without electricity and water, while the garbage filled the city’s streets. In the Sahaba Street area, a number of sewer pipes burst, flooding the area with sewage and prompting residents to shut down their shops and pile gravel in front of their homes to prevent the water from seeping in. In North Gaza the sewage water had reached several meters high, while warnings that the area would soon be flooded. Palestinian housewives would stay up late into the night to await the brief electrical supply so as to fill their water tanks. Many were complaining that the food had rotted in their fridges, including restaurant owners and those selling foodstuffs. The authorities expressed their concern over the likelihood of food poisoning given the rotting food and the hot weather. Faisal Abu Shahla, head of the Oversight Committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and one of the top leaders of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, rejected the opinion that security had become more stable. He told Asharq Al-Awsat, “This façade of calm in security is the aftermath of the fear that has consumed people following Hamas seizing control of the state security headquarters.”He questioned the so-called stabilization in security in light of the fact that even MPs from the PLC were subjected to attacks and assaults since Hamas took hold of the reins in Gaza. Abu Shahla referred to the attack in which Ashraf Gomaa and a number of his companions were physically assaulted, furthermore accusing the Executive Force affiliated to Ismail Haniyeh’s government of being implicated and covering up its crime.“Haniyeh’s government continues to conduct arrests for political reasons,” Abu Shahla said while citing the campaigns in which many of Fatah activists have been detained. He added that, “Hamas, along with its coup, has dealt the national project with a deadly blow.” He called for the competition between the two movements, Fatah and Hamas, to be one that could service the Palestinian people so that they could be the one’s to judge.Islam Shahwan, the spokesman for the Executive Power told Asharq Al-Awsat that he is extending the invitation to the Fatah leadership to visit the prisons in Gaza, challenging them to find one prisoner who is detained for political reasons. He pointed out that there were some among the detainees who had been arrested for fraud and moral corruption.Regarding the assault on Gomaa, Shahwan said that it had become clear that those who had attacked the Fatah parliamentarian were elements from the Fatah movement and that four of them had been arrested. “Why is there no action taken against Abu Mazen’s security apparatus, which is responsible for arresting leaders and activists from Hamas? They shoot them and burned their homes down, such as the case with Palestinian Parliamentary Speaker, Aziz Dweik, whose detention is contributing nothing to helping his family,” he said.One of the signs of danger in the way Haniyeh’s government is the contradictory nature of the decisions issued by the government and its institutions. For example, the Executive Force enforces a ban on organizing marches without obtaining a clearance beforehand. The decision was denounced by the Palestinian factions and the human rights organizations, which prompted Haniyeh’s government to amend it. And yet Hamas had organized numerous marches and events to protest against the practices of the occupation, which would have required a permit. Another contradiction lies in the decision issued by Haniyeh’s government to stop Attorney-General Ahmed al Maghni from practicing. Haniyah’s bureau was quick to state that al Maghni had not been detained or banned from practice, while spokesmen for the Executive Force had confirmed that al Maghni had indeed been temporarily suspended from practice and that they were investigating his implication in attempting to conceal corruption cases linked to leadership figures in the security apparatus. The prevalent conception is that the Executive Force operates autonomously from the instructions issued by Haniyeh’s government. Regarding the economic conditions, there is a general consensus that conditions have deteriorated. There had been a slight improvement after [Palestinian Prime Minister Salam] Fayyad’s government paid the salaries of tens of thousands of employees, in addition to Haniyeh’s government paying salaries to the staff and elements of the Executive Force – which Fayyad’s government had refused to pay.However, according to lawyer Raji al Surani, this reimbursement is negligible since unemployment in Gaza is 90 percent, which means that the segment that benefited from these salaries is but a tiny portion of the whole. But Hamas tries to bridge this wide gap by providing services for the poor and needy through charities affiliated to the movement. Al Salah Society is an example of these charities. The charity’s director, Ali Nassar, told Asharq Al-Awsat that it had recently provided 80,000 meals for the needy, in addition to providing for 8,000 orphans. However, Hamas abilities for provision are very limited. Gaza was engulfed in darkness for a week due to a power outage after the EU suspended payments for the power plant. This followed accusations that Hamas was trying to impose taxes on electricity bills with the intention of using the money to fund its own activities. However, the movement refuted these allegations and proceeded to point an accusing fingers at Fayyad’s government alleging that it had been intending to cut off electricity so as to incite the public against Hamas and provoke it into revolting. The crisis ended after Hamas agreed to allow the EU to examine the electrical company’s records. But after Hamas was saved from a sea of darkness, it began to drown in huge heaps of garbage. The piles continued to grow on a daily basis because the local workers were on strike after they were not paid their salaries for several months. And once again, the citizens of Gaza were forced to pay the price of the conflict between Hamas and Fayyad’s government. Moreover, Hamas accused Fayyad’s government of retracting its pledge to pay the local workers’ salaries – they had not been paid for eight months running. However, the greatest challenged posed by Hamas is Fayyad’s government’s insistence on making Friday and Saturday the official weekly days off, while Hamas is equally insistent that it only be Friday. Fayyad’s government threatened that it will not pay salaries to the employees who follow Haniyeh’s instructions, which means that most of the staff will follow Fayyad’s decision – even those who support Hamas.Another great challenge will be confronted in the education sector with the advent of the new school year this coming September. There is enormous pressure on Haniyeh’s government, especially by Hamas’s elite, to change its position and accept Fayyad’s position. Hamas’s present opposition means a disruption in the educational process. Additionally, there is a reshuffling among school principles, courtesy of Haniyeh’s government since they do not abide by the instructions issued by it. Fatah supporters who work in these institutions organize demonstrations to protest against these appointments, which results in paralyzing the work, in addition to the banishing many of the workers whom Fayyad’s government had guaranteed salaries.Hamas tries to fill the huge gap caused by the absence of employees in service institutions, such as the health sector, for example. There is a marked absence of staff in hospitals and medical institutions, as well as the police and licensing institutions, which abide by Fayyad’s instructions and which go against Haniyeh’s. Meanwhile, Hamas has recruited thousands of volunteers to substitute for the lack of personnel. For example, the people responsible for managing the traffic on Gaza’s streets are secondary school students who are affiliated to the movement. Hamas has also started to integrate its elements into the sectors in which they have experience and qualifications, while its institutions cover the rest of the requirements and make up for the lack. The heath service institutions affiliated to Al Salah Society alone offer services to approximately 1,000 patients daily for nominal rates. Hamas is also undertaking the construction of houses that have been demolished by Israeli attacks, in addition to providing financial assistance to the farmers whose farms were destroyed by the Israeli occupation. Charitable organizations affiliated to Hamas strive to provide a multitude of services, which results in strengthening the movement’s relationship with a large segment of Palestinian society. However, matters have remained unchanged in the health and education sectors; Hamas’s efforts have done little to compensate for the absent staff, which has resulted in an unprecedented paralysis in both domains.On the cultural and artistic level, Hamas has accomplished much, especially in theater. ‘Al Aqsa’ satellite channel and ‘Al Aqsa’ radio, both of which are affiliated to Hamas, have a theater troupe that performs plays and comedy sketches. The comedy star, Nabil al Khatib, who enjoys local fame in Gaza, leads the troupe. The radio station in Gaza airs various plays; one of which is based on the political, social and economic reality of the present day. One such play makes harsh criticism of the Executive Force whose members are notoriously known for their speeding on the road.Distinguished author and political science professor Walid al Mudallal maintains that the movement’s interest in the arts indicates its open approach. Furthermore, he refutes claims that its motive is to set up an ‘Emirate’ like that of the Taliban in Afghanistan. He declared these claims as unfounded and illogical. Al Mudallal added that the evidence proving that the two movements (the Taliban and Hamas) are different lies in the firm manner in which Hamas dealt with the groups that were stirring up trouble in Gaza recently. These groups were attacking Internet cafes, hair dressing salons and the Christian circles in Gaza, deeming them to be Western influence. But Hamas crushed them swiftly and put an end to such acts of violence. Al Mudallal also added that no action is taken against women who go to places of work or education without headscarves.Whilst some people may be against Hamas movement, al Mudallal said, it was important to note that, “it [Hamas] does not in any way adopt the ideology or follow the same practices as al Qaeda.” According to him, the difference is that, “Hamas believes in the rules of democracy and voting, in addition to its awareness of the importance of consolidating its relations on a regional and global level, whereas al Qaeda is strongly against these two premises.”span>

We are hypocrites and cowards - we take freedom for granted as it is eroding underneath our feet‏

Message to offended Muslims

A GOOD, TRUE STORY NOT KNOWN BY MANY.....Air Force.

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

What happened?

Mark Hasten Tribute Video Touro College

Housing Quiz

The Record-so far...!

CBS special on Bengazi

Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare

Sally Nelson

Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

Islamization on the move

"What we are dealing with is Islamization. Islamization is the imposition of ideological norms in increasing severity. Like Nazification, it transforms a society by remaking it in its own image from the largest to the smallest of details."Daniel Greenfield

Toronto rejects Anti-Israel Ads...

Shrinking Lands

Why Israel opposes international forces in the jordan valley/

/why-israel-opposes-international-forces-in-the-jordan-valley/

Islam is Islam, And That’s It

Back in 2007, when confronted with the phrase “moderate Islam”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan famously responded: “These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading and annotating this video: View video at http://gatesofvienna.net/

There's no racist like a liberal racist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vz4PjxSmtoI

Ex-Navy SEAL Drops Bombshell On FOX: Says Government is Creating Conditions to Impose Martial Law R

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuds14OBiE#t=156

American surprise

The Nairobi Mall Massacre

Ninh Chu Ninh Chu

Islam Untied

Platitudes about Islam being a faith of peace are not credible anymore. Islam is only as good as the way its followers practice it; and if they have created killing fields in the name of Islam, then Islam will be recognized by the silence of those who did not speak out when their faith was being massacred to massacre humanity.

AFTERBURNER w/ BILL WHITTLE: The Lynching

What-are you against peace?

Sydney Wake Up The Horrific Muslim Infiltration Of Britain - Luton

Kerry: 'Core Issue of Instability ... Is the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'‏

Kerry is no friend. By endorsing the "Arab peace initiative" he shows his true intentions and beliefs . And by endorsing linkage he shows that he is either a liar or a fool.Syria is on fire, Egypt is at best incredibly unstable and this is due to Israel? It is out in the open!

A word to left-wing students

In their own words-ru listening?

"The lesson these Islamist groups appear to be drawing from events in Egypt is that democratic engagement with opponents is pointless. And that doesn't bode well for countries with strong Islamist movements..."

Flashback: Obama Admits He Cut Medicare

Another Democratic slogan blown to h....

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

When nations and cultures ignore the early warning signs of the infiltration of radical Islam

The UK has 85 sharia courts. France has over 750 “no go zones,” Muslim enclaves where even French police don’t enter.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDKk15KcqNk&feature=email

No such thing as "Islamophobia"

However, if you do not want your positions challenged or criticized or even researched, make up a new "phobia"-shout it long enough and some "people", agenda driven, will use it. Ay, yes, the false term does keep many, many financially rewarded-follow the money.gs don morris, Ph.D.

Khader Adnan: Leader of Islamic jihad or innocent baker?

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.More...

Omar Barghouti's Propaganda at USC on January 12, 2012

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’ -- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.Clare M. Lopez

Americans are opening their eyes

Advertisers fleeing All-American Muslim 'propaganda'The American people are seeing through the propaganda piece that is TLC's All-American Muslim reality/dawah show, and responsible advertisers are fleeing in droves. The show aims to combat a trumped-up problem, "Islamophobia," by presenting Muslims who are just ordinary folk, and

Why Islam is Incompatible with Western Law

Col. Allen West answers a question on muslim terror

Challah's Gaza Rocket Counter

This Month:4Last Month:191

This Year: 562

Total since 2002: 12055

Cease fire Hamas style!!

Thanks http://challahhuakbar.blogspot.com/

"Islamophobia"

"Islamophobia" was a politically manipulative coinage designed to silence critics of Islamic supremacism.It was invented, deliberately, by a Muslim Brotherhood front organization, the International Institute for Islamic Thought, which is based in Northern Virginia.

10 Unknown West Bank Facts

Liberals Redefine "Extremism" and the "Political Center"

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist.The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Don’t ever call it ‘West Bank’ again

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Who do the territories belong to?

The legal borders of Israel under international law

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror YeminiIn 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state. Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

How Liberals Argue

Hebrew Univ-you rock!!

Judea and Samaria are not "occupied" lands-why?

Judea-Samaria were not only parts of the ancient Jewish homeland but were recognized as part of the Jewish National Home recognized by San Remo and the League of Nations [1920, 1922] and by the UN charter [article 80; 1945].

"Political Correctness."

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."Texas A&M

Christopher Monckton Speaking in St. Paul on the climate issues

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

WHAT Golda Meir actually said...

"When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist." Golda Meir June 15, 1969: Interview in the UK Sunday Times

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

About Me

Semi-retired Professor, now also permanent resident of Israel;divides time between both countries-serves on several Boards of Directors for Israel advocacy groups;Chana, resident of Jerusalem, JCPA member